


We're the Beginning of the End

by TorunnSays412



Series: The Life Adventures of the Omega Pirate Assassin (And His Children) [5]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Character Death, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 11:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17682827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TorunnSays412/pseuds/TorunnSays412
Summary: Desmond has always been different - from the way he was born to the way he lived. Considering who his brothers are, it's a shock to find he can still surprise his mother at all, except maybe it isn't a shock at all.





	We're the Beginning of the End

**Author's Note:**

> So this is finally finished and I finally forced myself to post it. I'm still not happy with it, but at this point I don't care. This is the final part in this series and part of me is sad it's finally done, another part is relieved, because for all that this is a short series it will have been -almost two years? I think - since I started this and I'm glad to see it done.

Desmond is the youngest of so many, some days he isn’t quite sure who he is. Almost every part of himself can also be found in a sibling, and he sometimes doubts he is his own person. From the day he realizes this, he makes it his mission to be as different from his brothers as possible.

This means he leads a unique life, compared to the rest of his family.

//

Desmond hates bathing. 

Everytime it nears bathtime, Desmond manages to evade his mother’s grasp and run off through the house, each time finding a new hiding place. Each time, Edward swears he is too old to be chasing Desmond down, so he has started tasking the twins with grabbing their brother and bringing him to the tub. 

This time, it is Connor that finds Desmond. 

Desmond had fled through the open door and taken refuge behind the clean clothes hanging on the line behind the house. He had hoped the sheets would be big enough to hide him, but clearly his brothers are smarter than he gave them credit for because Connor finds him in only a few minutes. 

Connor sighs, dropping onto the ground to sit in front of Desmond. “One of these days, you are going to run away, and Mother will be so panicked that you’ll kill him from the stress.”

“Mama can’t die,” Desmond says confidently, tracing his fingers through the packed-down dirt beneath his bare feet. Connor sighs again. 

“You going to do this the easy way, or the hard way?”

Desmond is up and running before Connor can finish the question, but Connor is prepared and grabs him around the waist before he can get far, then throws him over his shoulder while Desmond screeches. 

“Someday you’ll learn,” Connor mutters to himself. 

//

Desmond, at ten years old, did not understand why it was so important he didn’t have a father. 

Darim and Sef, however, thought differently. 

“Papá has taught us so much,” Sef says, voice earnest. “And he keeps Mamá from punishing us too harshly when we do something wrong.”

“But my mama has taught me everything I need to know,” Desmond tells them. 

“It’s not the same,” Darim says, the voice of certainty. He acts like he’s so much older than them, but Desmond is only a year younger than him. 

In the end, the brothers let it go, but Desmond can’t.

“Mama, why don’t I have a father?” Desmond asks his mother at dinner that night. It’s just them now that the twins are away, but Desmond doesn’t miss them very often. 

Edward glances up at him, hand stiff around his fork. “Where is this coming from, Desmond?”

“Darim and Sef were talking about how Malik has taught them so much,” Desmond tells Edward. 

Edward sighs, sets down his fork, and looks at Desmond. “I knew this day would come,” he mutters to himself, although Desmond still hears him. “Desmond, there’s one thing you need to understand. Sometimes, fathers can be like Giovanni and Umar and Tessa, where they would do anything for their children. And sometimes, they’re the opposite, and they don’t protect and love their children they way they should.”

“So my father . . .”

“Your father, unfortunately, falls in the second group. But you know what? You don’t need him,” Edward says. “Because you have me, and your brothers, and Malik, and we can teach you so much more than your father ever could.”

“I don’t need a papa,” Desmond concludes after a moment of thinking. “I’m fine with you, Mama.”

“Thanks, Desmond. Now eat your vegetables.”

//

Sometimes, Desmond forgets that Darim, Sef, and Tazim are technically his nephews. He spends so much time playing with them and training with them; they’re his age. They feel more like cousins or brothers.

It’s strange to think his brothers are married with children; maybe not Altaïr so much, he’s been an adult Desmond’s entire life, but Desmond’s earliest memories involve Ezio getting into trouble with the twins, so seeing him with his children is odd. 

“Desmond.” Altaïr’s voice is exasperated as he stares up at the four of them on the roof of his and Malik’s house. 

“Yes, Altaïr?”

“You know Mother will kill you if you fall off,” Altaïr says in Italian, the only language his children aren't fluent in, crossing his arms over his chest. 

“I won’t fall off!”

“And I will kill you if Tazim falls off,” Altaïr continues as if he hasn’t heard Desmond. Desmond glances at the youngest boy, where Darim is holding his arm, and concedes that maybe this wasn’t the greatest idea. 

Although, Darim started it. 

//

As the youngest of five, three of whom are alphas, Desmond can do very little to surprise his mother. 

Apparently, deciding not to join the Assassins is one of those things that will surprise Edward.

“Are you sure, Desmond?” Edward asks for the third time. 

“Yes, Mother,” Desmond repeats for the third time. “I’ve thought about this. Haytham and Connor have the colonies covered, Ezio has taken care of Italy, Altaïr and Malik have Spain. It’s just - I don’t think being an Assassin is for me.”

Of course, Desmond isn’t going to mention part of his reasoning involves how old his family is getting. He is terrified to leave his mother’s side, for fear of coming back to find him dead, and Ezio isn’t much better. His brother had pushed himself so hard for so long, it’s a miracle he lasted as long as he did as an Assassin, although he has Sofia to help him now. 

Edward has only Desmond, now that Desmond’s brothers are married or settled in other countries. 

“Alright, Desmond, I’m not going to force you,” Edward says finally. “It’s your choice. But what else are you going to do?”

Desmond shrugs. “Get a job in the city,” he says. “Maybe.”

“Well, if you’re going to the city, pick up some fabric. You need new trousers.”

“Yes, Mother.”

//

The thing is, Desmond doesn’t want to be an Assassin. He never has. 

His siblings all had motivation to pledge themselves to the Creed; Altaïr to prove his worth as an omega, Ezio to avenge his father and brothers, Haytham to rid the world of Templars and Connor to protect the people he loves. 

Desmond doesn’t have that. He’s a beta, he doesn’t need to prove himself, his father hasn’t been killed - that he knows of, although if he had Desmond probably wouldn’t know or care - and he doesn’t have the same drive to protect the twins seem to share. 

It makes it difficult for Desmond to imagine why he would follow in his parents’ and brothers’ footsteps.

He doesn’t tell his mother this. 

//

Desmond meets Shaun and Rebecca while he’s working at the tavern. 

He overhears them speaking about Malik - they don’t name him, but they mention the changes he had made with Altaïr’s help - and as he sets another drink in front of Rebecca, he says, offhand, “Yeah, Malik’s lucky to have Altaïr , the two of them together make leadership look easy.”

Shaun’s face goes through several different emotions, too fast for Desmond to track them, while Rebecca just looks shocked. 

“How did you - who - what?” Shaun’s face has turned a spectacular shade of red. 

“You know, you shouldn’t talk about this in the open,” Desmond comments. “You’re lucky it was just me to overhear you. Altaïr’s my older brother. If you two are looking to reach the base, I can take you after I get off.”

Desmond leaves them there and heads to the other end of the bar, watching out of the corner of his eyes as Shaun takes Rebecca’s drink and downs it as quick as possible. 

The perks of leaving the base more often than his family? He meets far more people, and he’s always finding ways to mess with the people unfamiliar with Jaén. 

//

“What was it like, growing up with them?” Shaun asks one night. They’re sprawled across the ground behind the house, staring up at the sky. Desmond doesn’t know where Rebecca is at the moment - he hasn’t seen her all day.

Desmond knows who he is talking about. “Altaïr was already here by the time I was born. I never met him until we left Italy, but my earliest memories are of the twins and Ezio getting into trouble. Ezio was always picking fights.” Desmond closes his eyes, sighing a little as he settles further into the blanket. “Firenze operated using a class system. The Auditore’s were near the top, and the other nobles despised the fact Giovanni was so open with the truth of Ezio’s birth. The other children mocked him, said he was less because he was our mother’s son. And every time, he defended Mother and Giovanni and Maria.

“And the twins - “ Desmond chuckles. “The twins were always fighting each other. They were so competitive. I can’t even tell you the number of times they hurt themselves trying to prove they were better than the other. Mother was always so exasperated with them.” He opens his eyes again. “I wasn’t born until after their father died, so I only ever saw the competition that arose from her loss. Mother says they weren’t always like that.”

“I can’t imagine having so many siblings,” Shaun muses. 

“Before they died, Ezio’s brothers treated me as their own as well. Even his sister still treats me like I’m her brother. I always knew that if I ever had a problem, I could go to them. When they died, I didn’t even realize what was happening at the time. I was so young. One day Federico was teaching me Italian, Petruccio was playing cards with me, and the next we were fleeing Firenze.”

Shaun stays silent, seeming to understand Desmond’s mind is far off. “Anyways, growing up they were always just . . . my brothers. Altaïr was the one I went to when I needed a question answered. Ezio helped me understand the nobility. The twins kept me alive when Mother gave up trying to bathe me, or getting me to eat my vegetables. They all had their different strengths, motivations, but they have always been my brothers first, Assassins second.”

//

Apparently Haytham and Connor got themselves mixed up in the war for independence over in the colonies. Desmond only finds out when Shaun mentions it.

“It’s been like that all along,” Edward says when Desmond tells him. “All their lives, where there was trouble they were in the middle of it. Usually with Ezio.”

Ezio, sitting in the other room with Sofia, calls out, “I heard that, Mother!”

“It’s the truth!” Edward shouts back. Then he turns to Desmond and points a finger at him. “Don’t change, Desmond, you have always been the least rebellious of them. I don’t know what I would have done if you had been an alpha.”

“You would’ve been fine, Mother,” Desmond says. “The twins fixed their problems, Ezio and Altaïr   and Haytham are married. You did well with all of us, Mother, even by yourself.”

Edward smiles at Desmond, eyes a little sad. “Thanks, son.”

//

When Edward passes away, at eighty-seven years old, they bury him next to Umar. 

It felt right, considering the relationship his mother had held with his first husband. 

Altaïr, standing next to Desmond, is staring at his father’s grave with tired eyes. “We left before he was buried,” he murmurs, and Desmond hums. “I’m not even sure who buried him. Malik thinks his father may have done it, but he can’t remember anymore.”

Desmond looks at his oldest brother, studies the weariness Altaïr carries like a blanket on his shoulders. “What was he like?”

Altaïr tilts his head in thought. “Firm. He was firm and calm in everything he did. He believed in everything he did, in the Creed, like no man I’ve ever met before.”

“Mother always said he was a good man,” Desmond says. Altaïr   hums. 

“He was right. Even after Father’s death, he was still protecting Mother and I.”

“Do you miss him?” Desmond is genuinely curious. As a child, Altaïr always seemed so untouchable. Now, in his sixties, his brother is still just as strong as he’s always been, but he shows his age. 

“I used to,” Altaïr admits. “In the years I was absent from Spain. I used to be so angry with him for sacrificing himself the way he did, but now I understand his reasoning. He did the only thing he could do in his situation.”

Desmond has never known his father, probably never will, but he misses his mother and he’s only been buried a week. He can’t imagine an entire lifetime spent without Edward. 

“Do you think - “ Desmond cuts himself off, shaking his head. Ezio appears at Altaïr ’s right, still as soundless as ever in his old age. 

“What, Desmond?” Ezio asks. 

“Do you think Mother regretted anything?”

His brothers stand in silence, and then Ezio says, “If he did, he never mentioned it. But I believe he was happy with how his life turned out, even though it was different than he believed it would be.”

Desmond sighs. Tazim clears his throat behind them, touching Altaïr’s elbow. “Father is asking for you, Mother,” he says quietly, and Altaïr nods. 

“Come over for dinner tonight, Desmond,” Altaïr says even as he turns to follow his youngest son. “And you, Ezio. It’s been too long since we’ve come together for something so simple.”

“I’ll be there,” Desmond promises, and watches as first Altaïr and Tazim leave, then Ezio, until only he remains in front of the grave. 

“Goodbye, Mother,” he whispers, then takes his own leave.

 


End file.
